Come Home to Norfolk

Team-

This morning the Virginia Department of Health reports 577,174 total confirmed, and probable cases of COVID-19 and 8,783 total deaths related to the virus in the Commonwealth.

The seven-day positivity rate, PCR only, for the Commonwealth is 7.1%.

Norfolk is credited with 14,935 total cases and 195 deaths with an 9.9% seven-day positivity rate, PCR only.

According to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, 1,321 residents in Virginia are currently hospitalized due to the virus. Over 47,000 confirmed COVID-19 patients have been hospitalized and discharged.

VDH reports that 1,982,780 people in Virginia have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. Over 686,289 people have been fully vaccinated.

The Commonwealth has received 2,361,445 doses of vaccine and are administering just over 42,000 doses a day.

To date in Norfolk, 35,479 people have received the vaccine and 9,054 people are fully vaccinated.

For daily vaccine summaries and totals, visit the VDH dashboard.

Restrictive Measures Update: Last week, Governor Ralph Northam announced that the number of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are decreasing in each region. As such, the governor amended Executive Order 72, to include the following:

• Social gatherings: The maximum number of individuals permitted in a social gathering will increase from 10 to 25 people for outdoor settings, while remaining at 10 persons for indoor settings.
• Entertainment venues: Outdoor entertainment and public amusement venues will be able to operate with up to 1,000 individuals or at 30 percent capacity, whichever is lower. If current trends continue, these venues may be able to operate at 30 percent capacity with no cap on the number of people permitted to attend starting in April. Indoor entertainment and public amusement venues must continue to operate at 30 percent capacity with a cap of 250 people. All entertainment venues were previously limited to a maximum of 250 individuals.
• Dining establishments: The on-site sale, consumption, and possession of alcohol will be permitted until midnight, extended from 10:00 p.m. All restaurants, dining establishments, food courts, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, and tasting rooms still must be closed between midnight and 5:00 a.m. 
• Overnight summer camps: As of May 1, overnight summer camps will be able to open with strict mitigation measures in place. Registration can begin now.

For more information on this, view this week's Incident Action Plan.

Vaccine Update: Over the weekend, The US Food and Drug Administration authorized Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine Saturday. It is the first single dose Covid-19 vaccine available in the US. The vaccine is for use in people 18 years of age and older. For more information on all three COVID-19 vaccines, visit the Virginia Department of Health.  

Schools Reopening: Today, teachers and staff return to their schools to get ready for the phased-in approached for our students. Welcome back teachers and staff! We appreciate all you do for our kids. 

Here is the breakdown of the phased approach:

• Phase One: March 1, 2021 - All teachers and staff return to work locations.
• Phase Two: March 15, 2021 – Students with Disabilities (Self Contained), English Learners and PreK-5 students begin hybrid model. Grades 6-12 remain fully online with the current schedule, except for those students previously listed.
• Phase Three: April 12, 2021 - All middle school students begin hybrid schedule. Grades 9-12 remain fully online, except for students in the March 15th phase.
• Phase Four: April 26, 2021 - All high school students begin hybrid schedule.

For more information, visit http://www.npsk12.com/Page/17555 as a resource for the most up-to-date information on the NPS Return to In-Person Plan during this transition.

Call Center Update: As a reminder, the Norfolk Call Center, 757-664-SHOT, closed last week due to the opening of the state pre-registration and online portal.

To pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine online through the new state portal, visit vaccinate.virginia.gov or you can pre-register by calling 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682)

Are you ready to give the gift of life? There are plenty of opportunities for you to give blood this month. Be an American Red Cross Hero by donating blood to help save lives. Click here to view all blood donation opportunities in Norfolk.  If you don’t live in Norfolk, don’t worry, you can search by city and find blood drives near you.

Be safe and have a great week, everyone. 

Daniel 

Daniel Hudson, Deputy EM Coordinator

Norfolk Emergency Preparedness & Response

EOC-Plans@norfolk.gov